Pai, Thailand

Pai (Thai: ปาย) is a small town in northern Thailand's Mae Hong Son Province, near the Myanmar border, about 146 km (91 mi) north-west of Chiang Mai on the northern route to Mae Hong Son. It lies on the Pai River. The town has thesaban tambon status and covers parts of the tambon Wiang Tai of Pai district. As of 2006, it had a population of 2,284.

Access

Pai is on Route 1095, which connects Mae Hong Son with Chiang Mai. Pai Airport, which had been decommissioned for 20 years, was paved and refurbished in 2005-6, and on 1 February 2007, Siam General Aviation began daily passenger service to and from Chiang Mai International Airport.

Tourism and development

Pai was once a quiet market village inhabited by Shan people (ethnic Tai) whose culture is influenced by Burma. Today, Pai primarily thrives on tourism. Well-known among backpackers for its relaxed atmosphere, the town is full of cheap guesthouses, souvenir shops, and restaurants. In the environs of the town are spas and elephant camps. Further outside of town, there are several waterfalls and a number of natural hot springs varying in temperature from 27-93 °C (80–200 °F). Some resorts tap the hot springs and feed hot water into private bungalows and public pools. As Pai lies at the foot of the mountains, many tourists use it as a base for trekking and visiting hill tribes like Karen, Hmong, Lisu, and Lahu. Another notable attraction is the town's excellent Wednesday Market which brings large and colorful crowds of local villagers and tribal people from all around the Pai Valley.

Thailand

Coordinates: 15°24′N 101°18′E / 15.4°N 101.3°E / 15.4; 101.3

Thailand (/ˈtaɪlænd/ TY-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/ TY-lənd;Thai: ประเทศไทย, rtgs: Prathet Thai), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย, rtgs: Ratcha-anachak Thai; IPA: [râːt.tɕʰá.ʔāː.nāː.tɕàk tʰāj]), formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม; rtgs: Sayam), is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Myanmar. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest.

Thailand is governed by the National Council for Peace and Order that took power in the May 2014 coup d'état.Its monarchy is headed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who has reigned since 1946 as Rama IX, as he is the ninth monarch of the Chakri Dynasty. He is currently the world's longest-serving head of state and the country's longest-reigning monarch; he has reigned for 7009219907440000000♠69 years, 250 days.

2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup

The 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup was the 7th FIFA Futsal World Cup, an international futsal tournament that took place from 1–18 November 2012 in Thailand. An extra four teams (increase to 24 from 20 at the 2008 event in Brazil) were competing at this World Cup.

Brazil defended their title, winning it for the fifth time, by defeating Spain in a rematch of the 2008 final 3–2 after extra time.

Bid process

Thailand beat bids from China, Iran, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Sri Lanka and Guatemala.

Qualification

The host nation, Thailand, qualified automatically.

Qualified nations

Venues

The matches were originally due to take place across four venues. Due to construction delays and failure to meet the security requirement, early matches scheduled at the Bangkok Futsal Arena were moved to the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium. After the final inspection on 5 November, FIFA announced that the Bangkok Futsal Arena had not sufficiently met the criteria. The two quarter-final matches would be played at Nimibutr Stadium, while Hua Mark Indoor Stadium would host the semifinals and the final.